“The Don” Buck Down

"The Don" Buck Down

The 2016 season has been one I won’t ever forget. After our successful trip to hunt public land Elk back in the middle of September, I was set on using the rest of this season as a rebuilding year to find quality deer hunting spots. My wife and I purchased a new home which put us closer to hunting larger terrain where I would need to focus my efforts on quality verses quantity. I have been excited to get away from the public land pressure, moving deeper into the timber hunting those areas I knew most people would not venture to.

I began scouting this particular parcel last year and continued my efforts of running trail cameras, looking at maps and sitting only when the wind was perfect. On a rainy day last month, Brett and I slipped into a new section and hung cameras where we had found a few scrapes. Several days following, I hung a double set where Jeremy and I would spend most of our November sits.

Disappointing as it was, my first trail camera drained its fresh batteries; however, I knew I still needed to hang a stand in this travel corridor. I grabbed a memory card from a nearby camera and went home. Upon viewing the video, I had one of two bucks standing in the scrape which grabbed my attention. A quick snap shot of his drop tine got the blood pumping wondering several questions about this deer.

My head began to spin, where did he come from, how old and what was he doing? He vanished with no sign of his presence, until November 9th. Jeremy and I arrived to this particular spot well before first light and waited for day light to crack. Around 7:00 we heard a loud branch snap only to look up and see a large bodied deer working his way towards us on a trail. As he walked through the thicket we anticipated him walking right under our stand however he split and went back up the ridge to our side. After 4 previous sits in this location, I knew that any deer that came down the trail he was on would cause difficulty in slipping an arrow to where they would be standing. I made a decision on this morning to grab my Tikka T3 rifle, and it was the best decision made.

As he continued up the ridge he split left into an opening where I stopped him and released the first Barnes bullet. He split and ran right down the hill towards us where I released another one at 6 yards. He bolted back into the thick timber where I found a hole he was running to and gave him one more. Just as he vanished into the spruce, I could see he didn’t have a solid leg to stand on where he began to tumble out of sight.

Naturally, the emotions were high as Jeremy and I celebrated harvesting another spectacular animal. A bow hunter at heart, it has been some time since I have shot a deer with a rifle, however on this day it seemed extremely fitting to do so after the election of a president who supports our Second Amendment rights. I think it might be fitting to call this deer “The Don”. In closing its important to be thankful and respect animals of this age and one can only wonder what type of journey and obstacles they have faced in the wild.

Thank you to the In Pursuit 365 staff and those who support what we are doing. Best wishes to all of you hunting this season, be safe and enjoy every moment you have in the woods.

- Johnny Brown & Team

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